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I was married with my husband for for 20 years.he was married before and his wife died.they purchase the house together .after we got married he never change the deed for the home to include my name .my husband adopted a child with the first wife.My husband excluded me from the will even if we were getting along fine.instead,he left all of his property to his sun.i want to know whether my husband will is valid and can he divest me of our marital property or can I renounce the will and collect a portion of estate.thank you

1 Answer from Attorneys

It is unclear if your spouse died and you need to deal with his estate or whether you are asking hypothetically what will happen if he dies before you.

Typically someone cannot entirely dis-inherit their spouse. Even if the will omits a spouse, the surviving spouse can demand a share of the probate estate. However, not everything becomes a part of the estate and if one spouse gives away or re-titles property before they die, the situation is far more complicated. Assuming that the children are not on the deed and only the husband and the name of a prior wife who died before he did are listed, this would most likely be a part of his probate estate and a portion (but not all) of the estate could likely be demanded as a statutory share.

While this post gives general information, it doesn't offer specific legal advice. You are strongly encouraged to seek an independent legal review of your situation. An attorney can look at the deed and the will and discuss your specific options.